Business School on Pause: Why the fact that the Obama inaguration is no big deal is a huge deal

I wanted to put all of the talk about business school, the economy, and professors on hold for this entry to write about our 44th president who is going to take office today.

It seems like the primary election took half a lifetime, mainly because the candidates starting campaigning two years before the nominees where officially named. And the general election seemed to linger on forever too... it was like running an extra 10 minutes at the gym after completing a normal workout. It just seemed like overkill and every one got bored and boring.

Now, the boredom is over. We have a historical event taking place today. We are about to install the first African American president in our nation's history. This is a huge deal, right? Well, I'm not so sure.

Here is a 27 year old's perspective. For my entire life I have heard about racism, mostly read about it, but rarely ever seen it in action. I've heard rappers on TV complaining and men convicted of crimes crying racism, but I haven't seen it in my every day life. I guess I don't see the inequality. As a west coast kid, I was in highschool before I even realized that skin color and ethnic background really mattered.

It didn't surprise me to see African American's, Asians, Indians Mexicans, or people of any other background succeeding in sports, acedemics, student government, or aything else. We are all people and I've always felt like people with unique backgrounds have an advantage. I guess I should tell you that my father is East Indian and my mother is white. So I too am a "minority". It just never mattered, didn't count, didn't figure in to the equation.

...and I'm not unique in this view. I have other friends with mixed parents, white parents, Pakistani parents, Indian parents, Japanese parents, and Chinese parents who feel the same way. We are all thinking to ourselves with this Obama thing, "what's the big deal? Obama is just another guy. Anyone can be president, he is the next one, so what?"

Well, I began to understand how important this is last night when I heard one of the Tuskegee airmen on the radio. For those of you who don't know, these were African American men who flew in the airforce during World War II. They were trained at a segregated base in Tuskegee, AL. They fought and died for their country, but were often disrespected and even spit on by Americans who didn't want people of their color in the military.

Anyway, the Tuskegee airman on the radio was talking about what a huge day this was for African Americans, and for him especially. He spoke about Obama as if he represented the vindication he had been looking for since the late 40s. He was proof that an African American can do anything.

That's when it hit me. The fact that I am not surprised by Obama's success is the very reason why we should be celebrating. A generation has passed since WWII and another one will soon be passing since the racial struggle of the 60s, and we are finally moving on as a nation. It is becoming the norm for skin color and ethnic background to be a non-issue in an individual's success. People really are being judged by the content of their character. How amazing!

So, I guess I will be watching this historic event on Television today because it is a really big day... not just for African Americans, but for everyone in this nation. Although, there are still more wounds to heal - this is big!